"I knew you would take my side."
Once he parted from Fatty, Sheila was swift to make it beside him.
Even her parents only had wry smiles as they saw how the same girl who had led Fatty's punishment became a sweet lady in Shui's presence.
"I thought we should struggle to find her a partner."
"Oh, I always knew that this girl was just waiting for the right one."
"Well, based on what I can see I have no problems. He seems like a talented lad."
"And handsome too. I would be so happy to have him as a son-in-law."
The conversation that her parents were having not only made Sheila blush, it also made it much harder for Shui to move away from her.
'I should minimise my contact with her while I'm here."
It wasn't like Shui didn't find her attractive but since he had no intention of staying in this city for long he didn't want to entangle himself into any romantic relationships.
"So um, Shui, could tell me about yourself? Where are you from?"
"He's from Cyrus," interrupted Fatty who had gotten over Shui's betrayal due to how embarrassing his sister was being.
"Did I ask you anything? Do you want another bea-, I mean a harsh talking to?"
Sheila was on the verge of returning to her usual self but she exercised restraint as Shui was here.
If she was any other girl then Shui wouldn't have any problems interacting with her, but the fact that she was a big sister to Fatty and Serina made him hesitate to do anything that might result in her falling harder for him.
Luckily, during the time that Fatty and Sheila argued with each other, Serina appeared.
"Good night."
"Oh Serina, did you manage to grasp that feeling?"
The moment he spotted her, Shui quickly went to her side in order to escape from Sheila. Serina didn't know this so she was just purely happy that Shui was here.
"Mhmm," Serina sent nature energy towards her forehead, causing the sword symbol to light up again. Kane squinted his eyes at the sight of the sword symbol but he only shrugged his shoulders.
As he noticed the strand of aura that the symbol released, Fatty's father was sure that it wasn't a method of their sect, but it seemed suitable for Serina so he nodded in approval.
"Mr. Shui," the father said with a suddenly stern expression.
"Hmm? You can just call me Shui."
"Very well. Shui, I'm sorry that you had to clean up the mess that my stupid son couldn't prevent,"
"Ugh."
"But, how do you plan on helping Serina overcome this?"
"The plan is to..."
As Shui explained his plan, everyone except Serina nodded with pensive expressions, and when it was over only she frowned.
"Wouldn't that be unfair?" she asked.
"Isn't the difference in cultivation unfair?" Shui responded.
"True, but what if you get caught?"
"Kuku, you don't have to worry about that, right Mr. Riki?"
"That's right."
Though Fatty's father had been trying to see through Shui, he was only able to see the surface, therefore he was sure that no elder working in the inner section would be able to detect his secretive maneuvers.
Serina still seemed dissatisfied but since she didn't know of any other way of handling this matter, she reluctantly agreed to the plan.
"Good. Now here."
Once she had complied, Shui took out a green herb that glowed with a gentle blue light.
"Boil tea from this and drink it. You can add milk or sugar if you like since it's rather plain."
"Okay. What is it for?"
"For others it would only give them an interesting dream, but you should be able to see something that will allow you to draw out the true power of your sacred treasure."
"Mmm."
Serina didn't feel very proud of her sacred treasure, but she gratefully accepted the herb.
"Well, that's all so I'll leave for to-"
"No, you should stay."
"Yeah, we would be glad to have you."
"You haven't rented a room yet, right Boss? Then just stay with us, we have extra rooms."
Since Serina, Sheila and Fatty all pleaded for him to stay, Shui agreed with reservations in his heart.
"Uh, I'll accept your kindness then."
During dinner, Shui had to put up with Sheila being stuck next to him during the meal, but he kept a pleasant expression due to the warmth he felt from the family's interaction.
"Oh Fatty, I heard you had quite the lecture in the inner section, since when did you get so smart?" asked Kane.
"Oh, that was all Boss. I just repeated something he told me."
Fatty didn't dare to take the credit for that lecture since he was sure that his family wouldn't believe him and Shui was present.
"Oh, that was you? Then, could you give me some pointers as well?" asked Sheila coquettishly.
"Tch, desperate hag."
"Oi!"
"Hahaha!"
After dinner and a nice open-air bath, Shui went to the cultivation room that he asked to borrow. Once he tweaked it to suit his own needs, he took out a broadsword as tall as he was which would change its weight based on how much energy he poured in. It was a weapon he forged for the sole purpose of gaining insight into the next form of his Unorthodox Blade Method, but it was still a spirit-rank artifact that would cause quite the commotion if put up for auction.
"Hu! Hu!"
Shui poured in about a tenth of his divine energy and repeatedly swung his sword at full force. If he relaxed his focus for even a moment then the building would shudder from the weight of his weapon, but he was confident that that wouldn't happen.
"Mmm, what are you doing?"
Suddenly, the red spirit flew out and talked to him while rubbing her eyes.
"Tch, don't talk to me."
"Yes, yes. Though I wouldn't bothering you if I had my elemental crystals."
"..."
"Hmm, ignoring me, huh? I guess I'll need to tell your little girlfriend about how you played dress-up today."
Shui immediately froze in place and slowly turned his head towards the red spirit.
"Weren't you asleep?"
"I was, but it was more like a nap so I was still aware of my surroundings."
"...Please wait a little longer. After I wrap up things here I need to head to my hometown. After that we'll head straight for the deposit."
"That's too long. Go there after we leave this city."
"No. If I don't go to my hometown then I don't know if I'll be able to find her again anyway. I'm going, that's final."
The red spirit gave Shui a fierce glare so he gave her one back. Since neither was going to back down, she eventually compromised.
"Ten days. You have ten days to handle your business or else I'll expose your crossdressing to your friends instead."
Once she told him her decision, the red spirit went back to sleeping but now that he knew that she was still aware of her surroundings he refrained from ranting to express his feelings.
'Damn it. What a slave driver I picked up.'
Shui was going to continue swinging his sword in order to ease his discomfort, but at that moment he sensed that the talisman he gave to Serina's brother had been activated.
"So they waited for him to pack up shop. It's probably to ask about me then."
The fact that the talisman was activated made Shui sure that nothing happened, but now he had work to do.